Attracting Family Physicians to Underserved Regions: Government Measures Have Shown Tangible Impact

Access to timely and appropriate healthcare depends heavily on the effectiveness of frontline services. However, in Quebec, significant geographic disparities in the distribution of general practitioners continue to challenge this principle, particularly in remote or underserved areas.

To address this issue, the Quebec government introduced a series of incentive-based and coercive measures as early as 1975, aiming to influence where newly licensed family physicians choose to practice. These policies were designed to strengthen medical presence outside of major urban centers, especially in regions facing acute shortages, where access issues can lead to serious health consequences for vulnerable populations.

In the CIRANO study titled « Impact des mesures incitatives et coercitives sur le lieu de pratique des nouveaux médecins de famille », Bernard Fortin (Université Laval, CIRANO Fellow and researcher), Justin Ndoutoumou, Josette Gbeto, and Maude Laberge (Université Laval, CIRANO researcher) analyzed the effect of three key government measures implemented between 1975 and 2021. Their findings suggest that public policies have indeed influenced physician distribution, encouraging more family doctors to settle outside the Montreal area.

These results were presented during an online event organized by CIRANO on May 20, 2025. On this occasion, Bernard Fortin and Josette Gbeto shared the study’s key conclusions and discussed the implications of territorial distribution strategies in Quebec’s healthcare system with attendees.

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